BRIDGET'S BLOG

  

   Our crew consists of a lot of young people, and we love it when local students snag their first job at the fruit market, working their way through college and career training with us. By now we’ve employed thousands of kids who’ve dispersed into the wider world as police officers, teachers, ministers, tattoo artists, nurses, produce managers, retailers, massage therapists, software millionaires (more than just one!), fruit market owners, contractors, chefs, and into nearly every sector of working life. It’s a beautiful thing so see, and worth more than gold to hear how their time at the market touched their lives.

   We call this legion of folks our alumni, and this blog post is by one of our dear ones, Bridget. We’re so lucky to stay in her orbit as she travels the globe, and welcome her back between stints on the high seas. In her words, here’s…

                                                                                BRIDGET’S BLOG

   Dill does it for me. A delicate, yet hardy fragrant herb that makes me think of spring and summer days stretched out past their due date. A gentle and familiar scent that adds freshness to dishes begging for an extra touch.

   Before I left Washington and traveled the world on my own, I spent years down at Yakima Fruit. I never knew all the scents would download into my brain, causing me to stop in the middle of nowhere on my travels and be mesmerized by home,

   When a faint peach note would hit my nose, I was suddenly biting into them back at the market, peach fuzz on my lips, laughing into the day without worries. The smell of basil in the middle of Italy transported me back to early mornings, watering the herbs I sold with cases of local tomatoes back in Bothell.

   I can’t walk by big displays of corn out on the East Coast without having my hands feel itchy from selling bins and bins of the sweetest corn in the whole world. Making displays of corn is the divine summer treat: a time consuming job often paired with a friend and an earful of gossip. Because ‘I heard it through the grapevine’ could not be more true down here at YFM.

   When I’m in crowds of people and I smell a certain perfume from that time I lived in Paris, I close my eyes and I can feel the French spring air kissing my cheeks. A hungry smile stretches across my face when I smell a certain curry that I served in that crazy vegan restaurant in Australia. The smell of crisp apples in that cider from Ireland: heavenly.

   But dill makes my soul twitch, makes me think of the endless summer daze I was in, the job that still makes me homesick. It reminds me of the bustle of the market, a place that I really never clock out of. Dill makes me feel like it’s time to head home, because there’s no place like home.

   ***Have some friends over, set the table full of flowers, bottles, and laughter. How about this Divine Dill Summer salad to bring it all together. Remember, use two bowls! Toss the salad in one bowl and transfer to another for luxury plating.

   1/2 bag arugula

   1 red bell pepper

   1 yellow bell pepper

   1 medium red onion

   2 small avocados

   4 hard boiled eggs

   2 handfuls of green onions

   1 bundle fresh baby dill

   Chop everything up! It’s nice to make everything a little different size to make our salad more attractive. You can store this salad all day in the fridge, and when you’re ready to serve, toss with lots of olive oil and big pinches of sea salt. Dill is the real superstar for this dish. Any dressing would drown it out. Add grilled chicken, steak or salmon for a complete meal. Serves around 4—just add more arugula to make it bigger.

   How about baguettes with butter or olive oil. I love to GRILL baguettes in summer. If you can’t grill, try toasting it up. A big party piece of bread looks great with this salad.